A Brief History
The tournament now known as the FedEx St. Jude Classic was founded in 1958 as the Memphis Open by seven Memphis businessmen who hatched their plan in the grill at the old Colonial Country Club in East Memphis.
With an initial purse of $20,000, the founders had little idea that their creation would one day become the world class event it is today. Billy Maxwell won that inaugural event and collected $2,800.
Steady growth followed through December 1969, when entertainer Danny Thomas agreed to lend his name — and influence — to the event. The first Danny Thomas Memphis Classic was played in 1970. Danny became the tournament’s honorary chairman and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital became the event’s sole charity.
Dave Hill won the first DTMC and earned a champion’s check of $30,000 from the $150,000 purse. Hill ultimately would win four times at Memphis.
Colonial Country Club — and the Memphis tournament — moved to Cordova, TN, on the eastern edge of Shelby County before the start of the 1972 tournament. Lee Trevino claimed victory in the first tournament played at the new par-72 layout. It was his second straight victory in the DTMC. The “Merry Mex” won the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic for the third time in 1980.
In 1977, the eyes of the entire sports world focused on Memphis. President Gerald Ford, who had just left office earlier that year, started the week off with “the shot heard ’round the world” — a hole-in-one on the fifth hole during Wednesday’s Celebrity Pro-Am.
But, the loudest noise was made by soft-spoken PGA TOUR veteran Al Geiberger on Friday, June 10. The lanky Californian accomplished what Sports Illustrated called “one of the most significant athletic achievements of the century” when he shot a 59 on the longest course on the PGA TOUR. The 13-under-par round still stands as a PGA TOUR record.
(The mark was tied by Chip Beck in the 1991 Las Vegas Invitational, David Duval in the 1999 Bob Hope Desert Classic, Paul Goydos in the 2010 John Deere Classic and Stuart Apple by in the 2010 Greenbrier Classic).
In 1985, Danny Thomas and tournament officials decided to put more emphasis on St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and changed the name to the St. Jude Memphis Classic.
One year later, in 1986, Federal Express Corporation became the tournament’s title sponsor and the newly-named Federal Express St. Jude Classic ascended to a new plateau in professional sports. Tournament donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital skyrocketed as a result of the overall support of Federal Express.
Only the second move in the tournament’s history occurred in 1989 when the tournament moved to its new home...the magnificent TPC Southwind.
Danny Thomas — the tournament’s honorary chairman and guiding light for 21 years — died in February, 1991. That year’s Federal Express St. Jude Classic was held in his memory.
The tournament changed its name (and logo) in 1995 to the FedEx St. Jude Classic.
FedEx completed 21 years as title sponsor in 2006 and became the umbrella sponsor of the FedExCup, a season-long points race on the PGA TOUR, beginning in 2007. In 2010, Smith & Nephew was the Presenting Sponsor, with FedEx returning as Title Sponsor in 2011.